The Gospel

“Gospel” is a church word that means “good news.” But before we get to the good news, we have to talk about the bad news.

The bad news is that we’re sinners. We all are. The Bible says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). But this brings up another question. What’s the “glory” of God?

The glory of God is talking about God’s awesomeness. God is perfect in every way. He’s all wise, all good, and almighty. And in His infinite power and goodness, He created us so that we could experience His goodness.

But then we rebelled. We sinned by not obeying Him. He only wanted good things for us. But instead of trusting God, we wanted to make our own choices. We exalted ourselves to the place that only God has the right to have, being our Lord and Master.

Since God is perfect in every way, He will not allow sin to be in His presence. It’s contrary to His very essence. So since we’re all sinners, we can’t have a relationship with God. And we have no hope of eternal life. The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

But here’s where the good news comes in. Although we can’t possibly be good enough to earn God’s favor, God came down from heaven and lived the perfect life that we failed to live. Then He died for us, taking our sin upon Himself. The Bible says, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

But having Christ’s undeserved death substitute for your own deserved death isn’t automatic. You must trust in Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36).

This is a crucial point. You must truly trust in Jesus. Genuine belief in Him will change you. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). This isn’t saying that we save ourselves by our actions, but rather that if we have genuine faith in Him, our actions will reflect that.

If you would like more information about beginning a relationship with God, please contact us. We’d love to talk with you!

About Our Church

Grace Baptist Church is all about grace. We first receive the grace of God. And it's our mission to share God's grace with others, especially with the people of Nokomis and surrounding towns. We welcome you to worship God with us as we glorify God for His grace.